Hoth "Playset"

So I gave up hope long ago that Hasbro would ever give me the playsets I want. So, I'm trying my hand at crafting my own using a plastic called Instamorph. Smooth-on type stuff was way out of my budget, but this stuff seems fun and I was thinking Hoth would be a nice place to start since its snow/ice texture is forgiving. Also worth noting - I have no real art background and I haven't sculpted anything since I was in 4th grade (I'm now 36).

My goal is to create a playset that would fit on my Hoth shelf, created entirely of plastic (as a real toy would be) - no foam, clay, and as little paint as possible. While I'm certainly going for the spirit of the film, I'm not trying to create a inch-by-inch recreation of the set and shooting exteriors. Instead, I'm trying to create something that would come close to a "toy" (though I'm lacking in action features for now).

Wampa cave on left, large snowfield in the middle, raised bank for Han/Chewie/Probot, a cave entrance, and a little slice of hallway for Han and Leia to argue in.

I haven't really started into any detailing - but plan to implement some black/grey piping and some more ice texture (I continue to try to get my walls to look like Imperial Attack Base, but Instamorph isn't as friendly as clay when it comes to sculpting. Also need to work on making it a bit more extruded (3 dimensional instead of so much "straight wall."

I have to admit, back when you only had the Wampa cave done I found it left a bit to be desired (mainly the way the ice structures didn't blend between the pillar accessory). That said, through the combination of different Hoth areas and thereby giving it a playset aesthetic, the whole thing looks really cool! The way the ground is shaped strongly reminds me of the vintage Micro Collection Hoth World by Kenner.

The picture of Han turning around, with the Treadwell Droid in front looks like was from a Photonovel. Really neat shot.

You know what would be really cool? Extending the area behind Han and Leia by putting in a blast-away hole in the wall for Imperial Snowtroopers to enter the base through.

Started working on "interior rebel base" on the right side of the playset. Grey floor is "control room" area -- plan on trying to construct a computer console or two for the area. Behind the han/leia area is bacta area. The 98 trench playset will fit in just right on the right side of the playset. I really think the piping in the hallway bring this puppy to life. Added a set of steps shaped mostly like part of "Imperial Attack Base" to get to the probot area. Lots more to do before this puppy is finished, but the basic shape is finished off for this specific piece. Not too bad for no sculpting experience and only using this plastic stuff for 2 weeks!

here in germany some stuff is offered called gorilla-plastic. It seems to be nearly the same. I ordered some of it for testing. It is on the way.

Good luck! It's fun stuff to play with, but it certainly can be difficult to work with - and cheaper than things like Smooth-On. I'm guessing what I have built so far is around $30 in raw plastic Instamorph.